This Valentine’s Day, TIM + THOM are presenting the Black Hearts Ball, a swanky night of fashion and opera.
In partnership with the American Swedish Institute, seven Minnesota-based designers present their interpretation of the Nobel Creations Exhibition.
To collaborate with the recently opened art exhibition, each designer selected a Nobel Prize to serve as inspiration for a collection of three looks.
Each mini-collection will be showcased at this elevated black-and-white cocktail affair, presented alongside local operatic and classical musicians creating a dynamic experience.
Here, A&E takes an inside look at three of the designers’ creative process in preparation for the ball.
Emma Holcomb
Active- and yoga-wear designer Emma Holcomb chose the Nobel Peace Prize as her inspiration.
“I do a lot of yoga, and this is what I focus my life on — finding inner peace — so it is perfect,” Holcomb said.
The designer and inner yogi took to nature to represent her theme.
“I’m using all natural fibers for the tops, and then dyeing them with all natural resources,” she said.
Holcomb enjoyed branching out from her typical bold, sporty color palette into the realm of earthy tones. She used vegetables and perennial plants, including beets, red cabbage, turmeric and wine, to dye her fabrics naturally.
She melded art from the gallery with the theme of peace to create her garments that resonate with what she calls her own personal life mantra:
“Get out and life a full life. Love [who] you are and [the life] you are living. Make the most of every moment.”
Danielle Everine
University of Minnesota graduate Danielle Everine had the Nobel Prize itself as her inspiration.
Nobel laureates win a gold medal with the visage of Nobel along with a personalized diploma and a large sum of money.
Everine was fascinated by the history of the Nobel Prize and its creator, Alfred Nobel.
“The history of the Nobel Prize is really interesting; Alfred Nobel was an inventor, and he worked with dynamite and other weapons, so he has a cool story,” Everine said.
The intricacies of text and graphics on the diplomas, along with the ornate nature of each medal, appeared in her designs.
“My looks are inspired by Swedish pride and the visual of the prizes themselves. So there are gold pieces and layered embroidered pieces that are inspired by the diplomas. I also reinterpreted some Nordic screen printing, incorporating Swedish and Norwegian designs and motifs,” Everine said.
She hopes to translate the culture and design of the Sami people, a tribe indigenous to Nordic countries, into her work.
Each look includes five pieces that implement layering with wools, furs and woven pieces, Everine said.
Emrys Mariel
Clothing designer and interdisciplinary artist Emrys Mariel used economics as her Nobel inspiration.
“I’m very much interested in why and how material culture is generally made, like why we make the things that we do,” Mariel said.
She delved into the agricultural and economic process of sourcing for materials and reflected environmental issues into her designs.
“Some of the specific embroideries or color palettes are references to species that are threatened by extractive industry projects. I am thinking about these interactive pendants, and their relationship to economic activities,” Mariel said. “What are the means for providing for human need, but how are those actions destroying and displacing others?”
Mariel touched on endangered species, the threat to wild rice crops, the fear of basing an economy on fossil fuels and the loss of pollinators.
“There are other means for reaping economic benefits that build on dependency rather than dominance,” Mariel said.
As a designer, Mariel has the outlet to present designs that move past aesthetics and tackle economic and social justice issues.
What: Black Hearts Ball
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Ave. S., Minneapolis
Cost: General admission $35, VIP $60
Age: 21+
